Mark began studying Viticulture and Enology in 2015 at Grayson College in Denison, TX after deciding to make a career change after many years in the corporate retail world. While in school, he worked for a boutique winery specializing in Estate grown Chardonnay and Syrah where he eventually became the Assistant Winemaker. Later, he took a role as Winemaker and Vice-President of another boutique winery in North Texas where he specialized in award winning dry wines. When the opportunity arose to move to Iowa, he quickly found a new home here at Fireside Winery.